Bell Asset Management Ltd Boosts Position in UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH)

Bell Asset Management Ltd raised its position in shares of UnitedHealth Group Incorporated (NYSE:UNH) by 3.3% in the fourth quarter, according to its most recent 13F filing with the Securities & Exchange Commission. The firm owned 28,496 shares of the healthcare conglomerate’s stock after purchasing an additional 922 shares during the period. UnitedHealth Group accounts for approximately 2.6% of Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings, making the stock its 7th biggest position. Bell Asset Management Ltd’s holdings in UnitedHealth Group were worth $14,415,000 at the end of the most recent quarter.

Several other large investors also recently made changes to their positions in the company. NewSquare Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter valued at about $25,000. Hurley Capital LLC bought a new position in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the fourth quarter valued at approximately $28,000. AlphaMark Advisors LLC bought a new stake in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter worth approximately $30,000. Aster Capital Management DIFC Ltd bought a new stake in shares of UnitedHealth Group in the 4th quarter worth $30,000. Finally, Promus Capital LLC bought a new position in UnitedHealth Group during the fourth quarter valued at about $32,000. Institutional investors and hedge funds own 87.86% of the company’s stock.

Insider Transactions at UnitedHealth Group

In related news, Director Timothy Patrick Flynn purchased 1,000 shares of UnitedHealth Group stock in a transaction on Friday, January 17th. The stock was purchased at an average cost of $511.57 per share, with a total value of $511,570.00. Following the acquisition, the director now directly owns 4,500 shares in the company, valued at approximately $2,302,065. This trade represents a 28.57 % increase in their ownership of the stock. The acquisition was disclosed in a filing with the SEC, which is accessible through this link. 0.33% of the stock is currently owned by corporate insiders.

Wall Street Analysts Forecast Growth

Several equities analysts have recently weighed in on the stock. StockNews.com upgraded shares of UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “buy” rating in a research report on Thursday, January 23rd. Wells Fargo & Company decreased their price target on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $694.00 to $660.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Tuesday, January 28th. Barclays cut their target price on UnitedHealth Group from $655.00 to $642.00 and set an “overweight” rating on the stock in a research report on Friday, January 17th. Hsbc Global Res raised UnitedHealth Group from a “hold” rating to a “strong-buy” rating in a research note on Friday, January 10th. Finally, Piper Sandler decreased their target price on shares of UnitedHealth Group from $605.00 to $600.00 and set an “overweight” rating for the company in a report on Thursday, January 2nd. Twenty research analysts have rated the stock with a buy rating and two have issued a strong buy rating to the company. Based on data from MarketBeat.com, UnitedHealth Group currently has an average rating of “Buy” and an average target price of $629.32.

UnitedHealth Group Stock Down 2.9 %

UnitedHealth Group stock opened at $524.94 on Monday. The company has a market capitalization of $480.17 billion, a P/E ratio of 33.87, a P/E/G ratio of 1.37 and a beta of 0.61. UnitedHealth Group Incorporated has a 1-year low of $436.38 and a 1-year high of $630.73. The firm’s fifty day simple moving average is $509.24 and its 200-day simple moving average is $541.85. The company has a current ratio of 0.83, a quick ratio of 0.91 and a debt-to-equity ratio of 0.74.

UnitedHealth Group (NYSE:UNH) last issued its quarterly earnings data on Thursday, January 16th. The healthcare conglomerate reported $6.81 EPS for the quarter, beating analysts’ consensus estimates of $6.74 by $0.07. The business had revenue of $100.81 billion for the quarter, compared to analyst estimates of $101.60 billion. UnitedHealth Group had a return on equity of 26.69% and a net margin of 3.60%. The firm’s revenue for the quarter was up 6.8% on a year-over-year basis. During the same quarter in the prior year, the firm posted $5.83 EPS. Sell-side analysts forecast that UnitedHealth Group Incorporated will post 29.54 earnings per share for the current fiscal year.

UnitedHealth Group Announces Dividend

The company also recently declared a quarterly dividend, which was paid on Tuesday, March 18th. Shareholders of record on Monday, March 10th were issued a dividend of $2.10 per share. This represents a $8.40 dividend on an annualized basis and a yield of 1.60%. The ex-dividend date was Monday, March 10th. UnitedHealth Group’s dividend payout ratio (DPR) is 54.19%.

UnitedHealth Group Profile

UnitedHealth Group Incorporated operates as a diversified health care company in the United States. The company operates through four segments: UnitedHealthcare, Optum Health, Optum Insight, and Optum Rx. The UnitedHealthcare segment offers consumer-oriented health benefit plans and services for national employers, public sector employers, mid-sized employers, small businesses, and individuals; health care coverage, and health and well-being services to individuals age 50 and older addressing their needs; Medicaid plans, children's health insurance and health care programs; and health and dental benefits, and hospital and clinical services, as well as health care benefits products and services to state programs caring for the economically disadvantaged, medically underserved, and those without the benefit of employer-funded health care coverage.